The MacBook Air is a superbly crafted notebook, but this niche product isn't for everyone. Its lack of optical drive, FireWire and Ethernet ports deem it inadequate for power or everyday users. Regardless, it functions well as a secondary device for frequent travellers, or those who require basic, hassle-free computing.

The U3 offers HDMI and eSATA ports, integrated HSDPA and GPS and features a dual graphics setup. Whether or not you are willing to sacrifice an internal optical drive for these features will determine if this stylish ultraportable is for you.

Finally, a fully featured ultraportable laptop that won't cost you more than $1500. It's easy to use, has plenty of ports and expansion options and it can last a long time away from an outlet. Sure it's a slow performer, but for sending e-mail, writing documents, viewing pictures and videos, it's ideal. It's almost the perfect laptop.

If you're looking for top comfort and full features in an ultraportable, you'll find them all in the XPS M1210.

The Fujitsu LifeBook S6311 is a professional notebook with some nice features. It performed well in our tests and it's fairly priced for it's quality.

Well built and full of features, this lightweight laptop is perfect for professional users who need good speed and ease of use while on the road.

Samsung has come up with a fantastic, lightweight ultraportable in the Q30. It's got enough power to drive productivity applications and manages to run for 5.5 hours with a long-life 6-cell battery.

The Sony Vaio SZ15GP/B is a great entry level unit for people who want to get mobile but don't need a monster laptop.

The VAIO is an excellent option for anyone after an ultraportable with good performance, solid battery life and an excellent design.

The Sony VAIO VGN-G811GN/B is a very nice option for people who expect to be on the road a lot. The battery life is good and for such a small unit it's nice to see an internal optical drive.

Although there's a notable premium on the solid-state hard drive and ultra-portables don't often come cheap anyway, this is a good little buy. It's got enough power to handle the most basic tasks and its implementation of flash memory should please those wanting to be on the cutting edge.

The U400 is a good size for travellers, has plenty of connectivity and good speed, and it's also well priced, but its battery life is short.